Iselma kaszabi, Pitzalis & Bologna, 2008

Pitzalis, Monica & Bologna, Marco A., 2008, Taxonomy and faunistics of the southern African genus Iselma, with the description of nine new species (Coleoptera: Meloidae: Eleticinae), Zootaxa 1876 (1), pp. 35-59 : 44-45

Iselma kaszabi sp. n.

Diagnosis. A middle sized Iselma , black without metallic reflection, but elytra brown. Head elongate, antennae subserrate; body setation yellow or with isolated longer black setae on head, pronotum and elytra; metatibial spurs shorter than half metatarsomere I; ventral margin of male gonostylus straight in lateral view.

Description. Body black without metallic reflection, but elytra brown. Body setation dense mainly yellow; head, pronotum, elytra, coxae and sternites with short, dense and recumbent yellow setae mixed with longer, thicker, erected and truncate black setae. Body length (apex of mandibles-apex of elytra): 10.5 mm; pronotum length: 1.8 mm; elytral width (greatest at posterior third): 3.0 mm.

Head slender and elongate, evidently longer than wide at eye level (excluding the mandibles); mandibles shorter than head capsule; head narrower at tempora than at eyes, sides parallel behind eyes; front flat; frontal suture almost straight; punctures dense and quite deep, intermediate surface shiny; labrum subequal in length to clypeus. Antennae (the examined antennomeres) subserrate, antennomere I cylindrical, 1.5 as long as II, evidently shorter than III; II very short, subglobose; III slightly longer than IV, IV–VI subequal in length, III– VI subtriangularly enlarged apically; antennomere I–II with normal elongate setae, III–VI with dense microsetae.

Pronotum with sides divergent from base to middle, greatly convergent anteriorly, slightly depressed longitudinally and basally on sides; punctures as on head; maximal width at middle about 1.5 of head at eye level. Mesonotum elongate, parallel on sides and subrounded at apex. Elytra elongate, convex, without tracks of venation, about twice as wide as pronotum at base; punctures dense and superficial. Legs slender, finely punctate; fore and middle tibial spurs slender; both hind spurs massive and spoon-like, inner and external subequal, both shorter than half tarsomere I.

Last visible male abdominal sternite slightly curved on the internal margin and slightly curved apically on the external margin, the portion not depressed wide. Ventral margin of male gonostylus straight in lateral view; male gonostyli with a short basal appendix with a tuft of setae. The male genitalia of this species were figured by Kaszab (1966) as I. optata .

Type material. Holotype male ( HNHM) “Capland, Willowmore 1.10.190 4, dr. Browns”; “ Iselma optata Pér. , det. dr. Kaszab”. We added the label “ Holotypus male Iselma kaszabi sp. n. M. Pitzalis & M. Bologna des. 2008”.

Type locality. South Africa, Eastern Cape, Willowmore .

Etymology. This species is named after the late Zoltan Kaszab, Hungarian specialist of Meloidae and Tenebrionidae , who enormously increased the knowledge on the taxonomy of blister beetles, and who was the first teacher in the study of this group for one of us (MAB).

Affinities. The relationships of this new species, belonging to the group of I. kaszabi , were discussed in the corresponding paragraph of I. elephantula .

Remarks. This species was cited as I. optata Péringuey, 1909 by Kaszab (1966).